Gilda

Gilda is a classic film about a man named Johnny Farrell, a gambler trying to make it big in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He meets a mysterious man who rescues him from getting robbed, and points him towards a nearby casino where he can showcase his skills of talented deceit. Johnny arrives at the casino, and is caught cheating by the casino owner who ends up being the man that saved him from being robbed, Ballin Mundson. Mundson sees something in Johnny, and recruits him to be his right hand man. The two men become inseparable, with Johnny gaining more and more responsibility as he continues to gain Mundson's trust, with Johnny eventually put in charge of the casino while Mundson is away. But the plot grows complicated after Mundson comes back, surprisingly with a new wife. This woman, Gilda, seems to have a mysterious air about her and something about her doesn't sit right with Johnny. The film goes on to uncover Gilda's mysterious past, and how her presence is now changing the relationship between Mundson and Johnnny.

I honestly liked this film, probably because it wasn't in the same film noir sub-group as The Maltese Falcon and Touch of Evil. There weren't many of the typical genre conventions of film noir within the plot of this film, other than Gilda as the femme fatale and the presence of money and the police, and the motif of the tortured, troubled relationship which adds to the buildup of suspense throughout the narrative. I thought that Gilda played the femme fatale quite well, and was more believable than any of the other female characters in the other examples of film noir that we've seen. Overall, I thought that Gilda wasn't the typical film noir pick but other than its long-winded plot, it was an enjoyable film to watch.